Printing using the Internet?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Carmen Gauvin-O'Donnell
  • Start date Start date
C

Carmen Gauvin-O'Donnell

Is there a (hoperfully free!) way for someone using a computer and the
Internet, to print something out on a printer attached to someone else's
computer which has Internet.

*The two computers are not on a LAN*, all they have in common is the
Internet connection.

I'm trying to find an inexpensive workaround for our office. :-)

Thanks in advance for any advice. These Microsoft newsgroups invariably make
good suggestions!

C.
 
There are various ways to do this, some more complex than others.

Probably the simplest is to use LPR printing. For this you need a
'printserver box' such as a D-link DP 300, for example. You then need to
redirect port 515 on the printer-side Internet router to the
printserver-box's IP address.

On the sending side, you create an LPR printer with the IP address set to
the other end's 'real' Internet address, and the printserver's port-name.
(just use 'raw' if it's a single-port box)

The LPR protocol is under "Other network file and print services" in the
Windows section of add/remove programs.

Once working, you then might want to look at security. Preferably the
printer-side router should be set to allow connections to port 515 only from
the specific client IP address.

Another approach would be to use secure tunnelling, to allow a printer-share
to exist between two computers via the 'net. More complex to set-up though,
and more likely to have security problems that might lead to a computer being
hacked.

For a free secure tunnel, look at Zebedee. The port you need to tunnel is
445 (or 139)

I'd use the LPR approach though. Simple and not much for a hacker to damage,
other than empty your paper-tray <g>
 
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